Longtime Faculty, Administrators and Staff to be Recognized

Some of the longest-serving members of the Fordham University community will be honored at the annual University Convocation on Sunday, March 4, in Pope Auditorium at the Lincoln Center campus.

In all, 48 professors, administrators and staff members will be recognized for their distinguished service to the University. The Bene Merenti Medal, instituted at the first convocation in 1931, honors faculty members who have been with the University for 20 or 40 years.  This year, the University will award for the first time in its history a Bene Merenti Medal to a faculty member with 60 years of service. The Archbishop Hughes Medal, commissioned by James C. Finlay, S.J., president of Fordham from 1972 to 1983, recognizes members of the administrative staff. The Sursum Corda Award is the University’s newest honor, established in 2005 by Joseph P. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, and is bestowed on members of the staff who have made outstanding contributions to the life and mission of the University.

Bene Merenti Medal (60-year award)

Bernard Gilligan, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor, College at 60

Bene Merenti Medal (40-year award)

Thomas F. Cloonan, Marymount Professor of Psychology
Richard Giannone, Professor of English
Charles A. Hallett, Professor of English
Martin Hegyi, S.J., Associate Professor Emeritus of Biology
Monica Kevin, Retired Faculty Counselor and Associate Professor Emerita of Biology
George W. Shea, Professor of Classics
Leonard P. Stocker, O.M.I., Associate Professor Emeritus of Education
James D. Weaver, Professor of Political Science

Bene Merenti Medal (20-year award)

Marc M. Arkin, Professor of Law
Susan Berger, Associate Professor of Political Science
Paul A. Cimbala, Professor of History
Mark A. Conrad, Associate Professor of Legal and Ethical Studies and Area Chair of Legal and Ethical Studies
Arnaldo Cruz-Malavé, Associate Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature
Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society
John D. Finnerty, Professor of Finance and Director of the Master of Science Degree Program in Quantitative Finance
Nicholas C. Georgantzas, Professor of Management Systems and Director of the System Dynamics Consultancy
Bruce A. Green, Louis Stein Professor of Law
Irene A. Gutheil, Henry C. Ravazzin Professor of Gerontology
Quamrul Haider, Professor of Physics and Chair of the Department of Physics
Abigail Marion Harris, Associate Professor of Education
Kathryn Moore Heleniak, Professor of Art History
Barbara Loomis Jackson, Professor of Education
William J. Latzko, Adjunct Professor of Management Systems
Dean Leistikow, Professor of Finance
Mark Stephen Massa, S.J., Karl Rahner Professor of Theology
John J. McMahon, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Ian Morrison, Professor of Mathematics
Harry P. Nasuti, Professor of Theology and Director of the Fordham College at Rose Hill Honors Program
Walter F. O’Connor, Professor of Accounting and Taxation
Joseph G. Ponterotto, Professor of Education
Donna M. Rapaccioli, Dean of the College of Business Administration and Associate Professor of Accounting
Beth G. Schwartz, Associate Clinical Professor of Law
Leon G. Shilton, Professor of Finance
Tadeusz Strzemecki, Assistant Professor of Computer and Information Sciences

Archbishop Hughes Medal (20-year award)

Rita O. Arno, Director of Development Operations, Marymount College
Janice E. Greer, Reference Librarian, Fordham Law School
Kira Haimovsky, Head of Serials and Electronic Resources Department, Walsh Family Library
Patrice Marian Kane, Head of Archives and Special Collections, Walsh Family Library
Michael A. Molina, Director of the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) and the Science and Technology Program (STEP)
Steven Najdzionek, Associate Dean, College of Business Administration
Marianne Reilly, Senior Associate Athletic Director
Dorothy Siegel, Office Manager, Office of the Controller
Charles Singleton, Program Director, WFUV
Donna S. Welensky, Administrator of Clinical Education, Fordham Law School

Sursum Corda Award

Heriberto Burgos, Foreman of Grounds and Transportation, Rose Hill campus
Carol Murabito, Director of Budget Operations
Margaret Noonan, Business Manager, Fordham University Press